NSEB is the first stage of selection of students in the biology Olympiad Programme
which is organised by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT). Every student
aspiring to go through successive stages of the programme must enroll for NSEB.
NSEB will be held at a large number of centres in the country.

Eligibility:

All Indian students who are born on or after July 1, 1996 and, in addition, are
in Class XII or lower as of November 30, 2015, are eligible to appear for NSEB 2015-2016.
A student may appear for more than one subject provided the examination
schedule allows it. See information about the examination schedule under various
subjects. Students who have passed Class XII are not eligible to enroll for NSEB.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the eligibility criteria are satisfied.
In case at any stage of the program it is found that the student does not satisfy
the eligibility criteria, he/she may be disqualified from the program.

Question Paper :

NSEB emphasizes comprehension of the subject, not rote memory. Its format will be
as follows: The question paper will consist of 80 multiple choice questions, each
with only one of the four options correct. Language : English.

Syllabus :

The syllabus for NSEB is broadly equivalent to the senior secondary level (Class
XI and Class XII) of CBSE Biology. This is only a rough guideline, and there is
no detailed syllabus given for NSEB.

Qualifying for Second Stage

The aim of the first stage examination is to have a wide reach, to progressively increase this reach and to attain nationwide representation for Stage II without overly compromising on merit. Hence the selection for the Stage II examinations, i.e., Indian National Olympiad Examinations (INOs) is based on the following scheme.

Eligibility Clause : To be eligible for the Stage II INO exam leading to the International Olympiad, a candidate must secure a score equal to or greater than a Minimum Admissible Score (MAS). The MAS for a given subject will be 50% of the average of the top ten scores in that subject rounded off to the nearest lower integer.

Merit Index Clause : There will be a high score called the Merit Index (MI) associated with each subject in Olympiads. The MI in a subject is defined as 80% of the average of the top ten scores in that subject rounded off to the nearest lower integer. All students with a score equal to or greater than merit index MI for the subject will automatically qualify for INO Stage II examination in that subject. For example, if the average of top ten scores in a certain subject is 92, then 80% of this is 73.6. Then the MI in that subject will be 73. All candidates with a score equal to or above 73 in that subject will automatically qualify for INO stage II.

Proportional Representation Clause : Students from all States and UTs need to be encouraged to appear for the first stage examination and a nationwide representation for INO Stage II is desirable. The quota for each State/UT used in National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) 2013-14, a nationwide competitive examination will be used
as the baseline for calculating the number of students qualifying for Stage II INO in every subject from centres in that State or UT. Suppose the NTSE quota is S for a State, and the total for all States and UTs is T, then the total number of students to be selected to INO Stage II from that State would be S/T times 300, rounded off to the nearest higher integer. This number will include those selected on the basis of the Merit Index. In the event of tie at the last position in the list, all students with same marks at this position will qualify to appear for the INO Stage II examination. The selected students must nevertheless satisfy the eligibility clause. The number to be selected from all the centres in each State or UT will be displayed on the IAPT and HBCSE websites.
( www.iapt.org.in )

Minimum Representation Clause : Notwithstanding the proportional representation clause the number of students selected for INO from each State and UT must be at least one, provided that the eligibility clause is satisfied.
The above criteria are illustrated with the following examples:
(i). Let the quota on the basis of the Proportional Representation Clause (c) for a State S1 be 20. Suppose the number of students satisfying the Merit Index Clause (b) in a subject is 10. These 10 students will qualify for the second stage INO exam in the given subject and an additional 10 students from the State S1 in the given subject will be selected merit-wise, provided they satisfy the Eligibility Clause (a).
(ii). Let the quota on the basis of the Proportional Representation Clause (c) for a State S1 be 20. Suppose the number of students 7satisfying the Merit Index Clause (b) in a subject is 30. In this case, all 30 students will qualify for the second stage INO exam in the given subject, and there will be no further selection from the State S1.

Previous International Representation Clause: Candidates who have represented India in the International Olympiad on a previous occasion (IOAA, IBO, IChO, IJSO and IPhO) need not appear for the first stage NSE examination in the respective subject. Candidates who have represented India in the Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO)
and the International Astronomy Olympiad Junior (IAO-Jr) need not appear for the 1st stage NSEP and NSEA Examinations respectively. Those candidates who thus qualify to skip the first stage NSEs may be allowed, on written request, to the respective National Coordinator, to directly appear for the second stage Indian National Olympiad (INO) examination, provided they satisfy other eligibility criteria such as age, pre-college status, etc.

Minimum Total Number Clause: In each subject, after all the above criteria have been applied, it is possible that the target number of 300 students to be selected for INO is not reached (due to non-availability of enough number of students in some states who satisfy Eligibility Clause (a)). In such an event, additional students will be selected purely merit-wise, provided Eligibility Clause (a) is satisfied, till the target number of 300 is reached. Other clauses will not apply for these students. In case of a tie at the last position, all students with the same marks at this position will qualify to appear for the INO Stage II examination.

There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to the Indian National Olympiad Examinations (INOs). All students who qualify to appear for INBO get a certificate of merit from IAPT.

Stage II: Indian National Biology Olympiad (INBO)

Eligibility Students selected from Stage I examination (NSEB) are eligible
to appear for INBO. In addition those students who have been exempted as described
in the Enrollment page are also eligible to appear for INBO. Besides these two,
there is no other way by which a student becomes eligible to appear for INBO.

Syllabus : The syllabus for INBO is broadly similar to NSEB. The syllabus,
however, is only a broad guideline. Questions and problems in National Olympiads
are usually non-conventional and of high difficulty level, comparable to International
Olympiads.

On the basis of performance in INBO, the top 35 students in the merit list are selected
for Stage III Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in biology.In the event there
is a tie at the last position, all students with the same marks at this last position
qualify for OCSC.There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to
OCSC.

Stage III: Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in Biology

OCSC in biology will be organized by HBCSE sometime in April to June 2011 for 2-3
weeks. The precise dates will be announced prior to or along with the announcement
of the selection list for the OCSC.

Eligibility for OCSC : Only the students selected from the merit list of
Stage II (INBO) are eligible. There will be no other criterion or provision.

The camps include several theoretical and experimental tests. Orientation is provided
to students especially in experiments. The camps conclude with a valedictory function
where distinguished scientists are invited to speak to the students. The merit list
of OCSC is prepared on the basis of the combined theoretical and experimental score
aggregated over all the tests in the camp, with 60% weightage for theory and 40%
weightage for experiment. Performance in previous stages (NSEB and INBO) will not
be a consideration for the merit list and awards of the OCSC. The top 4 in the OCSC
biology merit list are declared to be special merit awardees. These special merit
awardees are given Rs. 5,000/- each in the form of books and cash. In addition there
are special prizes to recognize meritorious performance in theory and experiments.
The 4 special merit awardees in biology selected at the end of the OCSC constitute
the 4 member student team for the International Biology Olympiad (IBO), provided
they satisfy required criteria such as age limit, holding valid Indian passport,
medical fitness, parental consent, etc.

Stage IV: Pre-departure Training (PDT) Camp

The selected 4 member Indian team undergoes a rigorous training programme at HBCSE
in theory and experiment. Special laboratories have been developed at HBCSE for
the purpose. Resource persons from HBCSE and different institutions across the country
train the students. The duration of training will be subject to IBO regulations.

Stage V: Participation in International Biology Olympiad (IBO)

The 4-member student team, 2 teacher leaders and 1 scientific observer constitute
the Indian delegation to the International Biology Olympiad (IBO).

Contact

For First Stage of Olympiad Selection Procedure (National Standard Examinations) in Biology: